Have you ever received that call from a friend and this is how the conversation began:

Friend: Hey, how’s it going?
You: All is well… how about you?
Friend: Well, I’m glad you asked because I’ve got an ‘Amazing Program’ to show you BLAH BLAH BLAH…

Your friend then begins to discuss the details of what they want you to do but NEVER ASKS YOU if you’d like to share a program that you’re excited about. And, even if you do share your program, they never join any of your opportunities because they are so self-centered and do not fully comprehend and embrace ‘The Golden Rule‘.

It’s unfortunate that there are people that do not fully understand the ‘The Golden Rule’ or what is commonly referred to as the ‘Ethic of Reciprocity’ that essentially states ‘One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.’

In short, ‘The Golden Rule‘ is the first commandment for Social NetPlayers. Without an understanding and appreciation of the ‘Ethic of Reciprocity’, our business ceases to grow and expand. The ‘My Way or the Highway’ mentality is anathema to our integrated networked global community. And, should you encounter it, you may wish to share this blog and wake up your friend to a whole new world.

I’ll be watching for Tiger, Phil and Bubba to be smiling this morning at the Olympic Club. The one that smiles the most will be in contention to win this prestigious event. Phil and Bubba are looking for their first U.S. Open victory. For Tiger it would be his fifth US Open win and a notch closer to Jack’s record eighteen major championships (with a win this weekend Tiger would have fifteen).

A little history of the U.S. Open from Wikipedia:
“The first U.S. Open was played on October 4, 1895, on a nine-hole course at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island. It was a 36-hole competition and was played in a single day. Ten professionals and one amateur entered. The winner was a 21-year-old Englishman named Horace Rawlins, who had arrived in the U.S. in January that year to take up a position at the host club. He received $150 cash out of a prize fund of $335, plus a $50 gold medal; his club received the Open Championship Cup trophy, which was presented by the USGA. In the beginning, the tournament was dominated by experienced British players until 1911, when John J. McDermott became the first native-born American winner. American golfers soon began to win regularly and the tournament evolved to become one of the four majors.

One hundred and fifty eight days ago I sat down after watching the American college football Fiesta Bowl to write a brief message to a Stanford student-athlete named Jordan Williamson (here’s the link for those that did not read it ~ http://bit.ly/FiestaBowl2012). From the feedback I received it appeared that my message helped put a game in perspective not only for Jordan but for those rabid fans that live and die for a game that I no longer support given the information that I now know regarding Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE).

So, with that said, I have another opportunity to share my thoughts with not just one student-athlete but an entire baseball Team that is returning today from Tallahassee to our beloved Stanford Farm.

I think back on a day over thirty-two years ago (March 6, 1980) when our Stanford Cardinal baseball Team went down to Tempe Arizona to play the always strong Arizona State (ASU) Sun Devils for a three game series. Unfortunately, probably partially due to CTE, I do not remember much of that day or weekend. I only recall that by the end of the game ASU scored 34 runs (this is NOT a typo) which still stands today as the most runs ever scored in a Pac-12 conference game. In fact, the Sun Devils scored a total of 58 runs during this three game road trip which may also be a record. We lost all three games.

It was this freshmen class that made a commitment to going from the basement to Omaha. The next year (1981) we went from not going to any post-season tournament to the Austin Texas Regionals where we beat Brigham Young, Lamar and the University of Texas. Unfortunately, we found ourselves in the losers bracket and had to beat the Longhorns twice. We split the games with them and missed Omaha by just one game.

Then came 1982 when we finally acheived our goal of going to Omaha (our first appearance since 1967 and Coach Mark Marquess, Coach Dean Stotz and Coach Tom Dunton first as coaches). We made it back to Omaha back in 1983. Unfortunately, we did not win the National Championship in either year but ended up being ranked 5th in the Nation both years. It truly was a memorable experience that began with our ASU 34 run defeat we had our freshmen year.

Why is this story about our ‘Road To Omaha’ back in the early 80′s significant for this year’s baseball Team? Well, I was told earlier this year by a fellow Stanford friend who knows the game of baseball that this 2012 Stanford Team was the best he’s seen in the 55 years going to games at Sunken Diamond. That was how we felt as freshmen back in 1980. My hope is that this 2012 Cardinal Team will make a similar commitment after the difficult two game series this weekend in Tallahassee like we did in Tempe back in 1980 and come back next year to find themselves on the same ‘Road to Omaha’.

Click here to listen to the Voice of Stanford Baseball, David Lombardi, call the last batter in Tallahasse.

Thanks to lengthy discussions this week with my personal accountability partner from Florida, Shawna Smith, I woke up this morning earlier than usual, took a walk, did my meditation, ‘Upgraded my Brain’ at JustBeenPaid (Thank You Fredrick Mann) and now I’m listening to Mozart as I blog on the Empower Network channel…Life is Good!

Well, you’re probably asking what does all this mean? Let me explain. The reason I took a walk first was my understanding that our bodies will not take care of us unless we take care of them. Our personal health is critical to our success in whatever we do. And, did you know, that Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death here in the United States. In fact, one in every three deaths is from heart disease and stroke. Here is a link to learn more about what we all can do to take action together: http://bit.ly/ENHeartHealth

I’m so excited! I just received a call from Zoe Shuster, founder and CEO of Katapult Enterprises (http://katapultent.com) inviting me to become a Katapult Life Coach. My training starts next Wednesday and will run for six weeks.

What makes this even more important is that my niche will be working with the Millennials (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Y) and focused on our leaders of tomorrow teaching them how to ‘Employ Themselves’ in our new economy.

Thank You Zoe, Laurin and the entire Katapult Enterprise Team for this opportunity!

For more information on how you too can join the Katapult Team just click the link below: